Originally, there was but one mind, which accumulated to form the three realms. Ignorance flows far and wide, the tree of suffering grows tall and dense. To trace its boundaries is difficult; to fathom its root is beyond measure. The principle reaches the gate of true reality; the net of concepts exhausts the realm of provisional names. The five causes, seven effects, and the twelve links of dependent arising—all are fully encompassed here. Ordinary beings, deluded, give rise to falsehood; sages, awakened, penetrate the truth. Below, it is like a rabbit floating; above, like an elephant crossing. Great indeed is the wondrous awakening, profound and all-pervading. The ten grounds and the twin groves are both illuminated; the city of hearing and the rice shoots alike flourish. As for this sutra, it uniquely contains those principles. What others have not explained, here is fully expounded. Grasping at conditions is the beginning; counteracting them is the end. In summary, there are eleven gates; in detail, one hundred and twenty questions. Its meaning is subtle and profound, its words concise and implicit. The outline and essence of the sutra are captured herein. Additionally, the sage Yulengjia, following the intent of this sutra, composed a treatise. In elucidating this treatise, he broadly drew upon the teachings of the three vehicles, not clinging to the net of a single school. First, he established the verses; later, he elaborated with commentary. There are thirty verses, hence it is also called the Thirty Verses Treatise. In the tenth month of the second year of the Daye era, the Tripitaka Master Dharmagupta from the southern land of Xian Dou(formerly misnamed Tianzhu), together with the late translation master Yan Cong, at the Shanglin Garden in the eastern capital, based on the Sanskrit text obtained from Linyu, translated it into the Sui language. In the ninth month of the third year, the work was completed. The sutra comprises two volumes, the treatise one volume. The Tripitaka Master was thorough in his study of the treatise, clear and profound in his understanding; Master Cong was widely learned in sutras and treatises, and skilled in Sanskrit. Together, they faced the leaf manuscript, repeatedly examining and refining it. Not a single word was overlooked; reviewed three times, it became ever more precise. The language is rather simple and direct, the intent sincere and correct. Compared to past translations, it is largely free of errors. Truly, it is a lamp of the Dharma, worthy to be called a treasury of wisdom. May it benefit the world until the end of time. Thus it is.
Translation by Dharmagupta, Tripitaka Master of South India, Great Sui Dynasty
From one arises three, From three, six are born. Six, two, and two become six, From six, six also arise.
From six there are three, These three again have three. Three then give rise to four, Four then give rise to three.
From three arises one, That one again gives rise to seven. Within these, all suffering, The Sage declares, is contained.
Twelve kinds of distinction, Skillfully taught as empty. Through the power of conditioned arising, One should know these twelve factors.
Ignorance and karmic formations, Name-and-form, the six senses, contact, Feeling, craving, grasping, Becoming, birth, aging-and-death.
The first, eighth, and ninth are afflictions, The second and tenth are actions, The remaining seven are all suffering. Thus, three categories contain the twelve.
The first two belong to the past, The last two to the future, The remaining eight are the present— This is called the three-times teaching.
Afflictions give rise to actions, Actions bring forth results. Results again give rise to afflictions, And from actions, results arise.
Without afflictions, what actions exist? If actions cease, what results remain? Without results, afflictions fade away— These three each cease on their own.
Five parts as cause produce results, Called afflictions and actions. Seven parts are taken as results, These seven kinds of suffering should be contemplated.
In the cause, empty of result, In the cause, also empty of cause. In the result, empty of cause, In the result, also empty of result. Cause and result—both are empty. The wise abide in this truth.
The Sanskrit original has one verse, which is now rendered as one and a half verses.
In the world, there are four kinds of division, Because cause and effect come together, they exist. Afflictions, karma, and fruit come together, With thought and desire making six parts.
Because they are contained in sections, There are two sections and three summaries; Cause and effect mixed form sections, Three and four sections are the general summary.
Two, two, three, three, two— In suffering, there are five dharmas: The doer, the womb, the realm, Arising, turning, birth, and flowing.
Delusion gives rise to fruit, The stream of retribution and fruit are two; In the corresponding root divisions, One, one, three, two divisions.
The fruit of heat and torment, poverty, The fruit of turning out, the juice-stream fruit, In the corresponding other divisions, Two, one, one, one dharma.
These twelve kinds, Equal in power, arise from conditions themselves. No being, no life, No movement—know this with wisdom.
No self, no mine, No self, no cause of self; Four kinds of ignorance are empty, The remaining parts are also like this.
Free from the two extremes of annihilation and permanence, This is the Middle Way. If awakening is already accomplished, The awakened body is all Buddhas.
Having awakened, among the multitude, The sages and saints speak of no-self. Once in the City Parable Sutra, The Guide taught this meaning.
In the Kaccayana Sutra, it is said: Right view and the view of emptiness. In the Prajñāpāramitā Sutra, The supreme emptiness is also taught.
If one correctly knows dependent arising, They know in accordance with emptiness. If one does not know dependent arising, They also do not know that emptiness.
If arrogance arises regarding emptiness, They will not weary of the aggregates. If they hold the view of non-existence, They will be confused about the meaning of dependent arising.
Because dependent arising is not confused, Free from arrogance, they know emptiness, And weary of the aggregates, They are not confused about the union of karma and fruit.
Karma acts, conditions continue birth, Yet it is not without these conditions. Emptiness and conditions will have this: The tools of karma’s retribution and experience.
The twelvefold distinction Of dependent arising was previously explained. Afflictions, karma, and suffering— These three are contained as the Dharma teaches.
From the three, two are born, From the two, seven are born, From the seven, three are born again— Thus turns the wheel of existence.
In the worlds of cause and effect births, There is no separate being— Only empty dharmas Give rise to empty dharmas again.
Through conditions, afflictions arise, Through conditions, karma also arises, Through conditions, retribution also arises— Not one exists without conditions.
Recitation, lamp, seal, mirror, sound, Sunlight, seed, vinegar— The continuity of beings does not surpass arrival; Wisdom should observe these two.
The Treatise on the Thirty Aspects of Dependent Origination is now complete. I will proceed to explain it step by step.
From one arises three, From three, six are born, Six becomes two times six, And from six, more six arise.
From the one arises the three. The one is called ignorance. This ignorance is said to be a lack of wisdom, for it is the failure to perceive the truths of suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path. Because of this ignorance, three kinds of karma arise: meritorious, non-meritorious, and unmoving. These are expressed through bodily, verbal, and mental actions, which arise from it.
From the three arises the six. From those three kinds of karma arise the six consciousnesses: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, and mind-consciousness.
From the six arises the two. Those six consciousnesses give rise to two things: name and form.
From the two arises the six again. Name and form give rise to the six sense bases: the eye-base, ear-base, nose-base, tongue-base, body-base, and mind-base.
From the six also arises the six. From those six sense bases arise the six contacts: eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact, and mind-contact.
From six, three arise, These three then give birth to three more, Three then produce four, And four then give rise to three.
From the six sense bases arise three things: from those six contacts, three feelings are born—pleasant feeling, painful feeling, and neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling. From these three feelings, three kinds of craving arise—craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, and craving for non-existence. From these three kinds of craving, four kinds of clinging arise—clinging to sensual pleasures, clinging to views, clinging to rituals and ascetic practices, and clinging to the idea of a self. From these four kinds of clinging, three realms of existence arise—the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the formless realm.
From the three arises the one, That one then gives rise to seven. All the suffering found within these, The Enlightened One teaches, is fully encompassed.
From the three arises the one: based on those three existences as conditions, a single future birth will arise. That one then gives rise to the seven: from that one, there will come aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and affliction—seven kinds in all. Among these, all the suffering the Sage speaks of is included here: starting with ignorance and ending with affliction, the countless kinds of suffering the World-Honored One briefly teaches are all encompassed within this.
Without wisdom and karmic consciousness, Name, form, and the six senses converge. Knowing craving and grasping, They arise, develop, ripen, and reach their end.
Within this, ignorance is the lack of wisdom. Karma is volitional action. Consciousness is discernment. Name-and-form is the aggregate of the five skandhas. The sense bases are the entrances. The coming together of three is contact. Knowing is feeling. Thirst is craving. Grasping is clinging. Accumulation is becoming. Emergence is birth. Ripening is aging. The final end is death.
Now, I will explain these distinctions and their interconnections in order. Among them, the distinctions of karma, afflictions, and karmic retribution are as follows: